MLS Notes: D.C. United to play PSG; Crew, Revs each cut three and more

As a result of Juventus cancelling its North American tour and pulling out of the World Football Challenge tournament, D.C. scrambled to find a new opponent and landed on PSG, which will also be playing Chelsea at Yankee Stadium on July 22 as part of the WFC. The D.C. match will be part of a doubleheader in the Maryland-D.C. area, with Liverpool playing Tottenham at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium earlier in the day before the United-PSG 7:30 p.m. nightcap at RFK Stadium.

Juventus was also supposed to play against PSG in Montreal and Real Madrid in Las Vegas. While the Italian champions had their place in Vegas taken by Mexican champion Santos Laguna, the match in Montreal was cancelled altogether, and fans who already purchased tickets are entitled to refunds.

Francis is the most notable of the cuts. The Jamaican international began the season as the first-choice left back, starting the first five games of the season. He lost his starting job to Nemanja Vukovic, and the speedy fullback ends his three-year run with the Crew with four assists, three of which came this season.

Veeder, another fullback, was awarded to the Crew after a weighted lottery last year, but only played for the Crew reserves. Perry was a second-round SuperDraft pick out of South Florida this past January, and he also did not make any first-team league appearances.

REVS PART WAYS WITH TRIO

The New England Revolution were busy Wednesday as well, cutting John Lozano, declining to pick up the July 1 contract options on Jeremiah White and Bjorn Runstrom and activating Sainey Nyassi from the disabled list.

Lozano, a Colombian central defender, was a starter for the Revs earlier in the season but ends his time with two starts after joining the club in the winter from America de Cali.

White and Runstrom had their short-term deals expiring Sunday, and the seldom-used attackers did not make enough of an impact to make it worth the Revs' while to keep them around.

"With the international transfer window opening, we had to make some hard decisions about our roster as we look to bring in some new players," Revs general manager Mike Burns said.

RSL, FIRE MAKE TRADE

Real Salt Lake added another centerback to its roster, acquiring Kwame Watson-Siriboe from the Chicago Fire for a 2014 MLS SuperDraft fourth-round pick. Considering the MLS SuperDraft was reduced to two rounds in 2012, that would amount to a second-round supplemental draft pick.

Watson-Siriboe, in his third year out of the University of Connecticut, has struggled to find first-team time in MLS. He spent last season on loan with the NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies and has not played this season at all. He made 10 appearances (seven starts) in his rookie season in 2010.

Hertzog, in his second year out of Penn State University, has excelled for the USL Pro side, accounting for four goals and two assists in seven games. His original loan was only for a month, but with him faring well for the club while getting competitive minutes he would not be getting in New York, the two sides agreed to extend for the long haul.

————————-

Will you attend D.C. United-PSG? What do you make of all the cuts by the Crew and Revs? Think bigger moves are on the way? Do you think Watson-Siriboe will be able to contribute for RSL? Happy to see Hertzog get more game time with Wilmington?

Perry was the #2 pick in 2012, and they have already released him. I dont have much faith in the Crew drafting, since Finlay hasnt done much either and for some reason the coaches refuse to give Meram his due as well… hopefully they are saving the money for a European DP!